


Assorted One-shots from my "Stilinski Cousins" series

by thornconnelly



Series: Stilinski Cousins [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Getting Together, M/M, Mostly Fluff, Post 3a, no nogitsune
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-07-03 20:48:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15826659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thornconnelly/pseuds/thornconnelly
Summary: These are all little scenes that didn't fit into the larger plot of my "Stilinski Cousins" fics, since both fics are told from outsider's POV, and these are private scenes between Stiles and Derek.These all follow Stiles and Derek as they dance around each other before finally getting together. They fit into the larger story, but could probably be read as stand-alones.





	1. Chapter 4a

**Author's Note:**

> So the context for this is that Stiles and Derek both acknowledged they have feelings for each other once Derek and Cora came back from their road trip. But then Derek started acting stiff and reserved around Stiles without explaining anything about why.

“Thanks for coming food shopping with me,” Derek said as Stiles lowered the radio. “It’s quicker with two people.”

“And it was almost like a date,” Stiles responded with a grin. “Just maybe next time we can do something that involves eating food?”

Derek scowled suddenly and yanked the steering wheel hard to the side, parking his car at a weird angle with the sidewalk. He threw his door open and leapt out. 

“Holy shit I didn’t think that implying we go on a date would upset you that much,” Stiles grumbled as he leaned over and looked up at Derek. 

“Sorry, be quiet,” Derek said while staring up and down the block, breathing in slowly and deeply. 

“Dude you look crazy. What is happening?”

“I just… I need to smell…” Derek murmured as he closed his door and started walking up the block. 

Stiles gestured wildly at the rows of houses. “Smell?” He got out of the car and rushed to catch up with Derek. “Dude, smell what?”

“I thought I smelled a werewolf,” Derek whispered.

Stiles froze in his tracks. “A werewolf? You mean, a new one? Like not one of our pack?”

Derek nodded terseley but then shook his head, “I can’t catch it anymore.”

“Uh… alright. But can we go back to the car now? Because the ice cream is melting and I’m pretty sure that you look insane, after the way you parked your car and jumped out of it to walk around the block sniffing things.”

Derek scowled over at Stiles but replied, “Fine. But call Scott so we can tell him about this. He should know that someone new might be in town.”


	2. Chapter 10a

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles has just learned that he has a lot of uncontrolled magic, and if he doesn't learn to control it soon, he poses a danger to himself and everyone around him. He's discussing this with his cousin Agie (the protagonist of "So I'm a Werewolf Now..." and one of the protags of "Wolves and Witches").

Agie suddenly grins, “You know, I think your magic is going to give Derek another thing to worry about.”

“What?” Stiles asked with wide eyes. He hadn’t thought about how his magic might affect Derek. Derek who was constantly worrying about protecting his pack. Derek who would see the benefit from Stiles’ magic, but would also worry about possible side-effects. Derek who constantly treated Stiles like he was a weakling who needed to be protected. “Oh, seriously? Fuck Derek.”

Agie turned towards the front of the house as if reacting to something-- Derek must have just walked into hearing range as Stiles said that, “Wait, Derek, context!” Agie shouted at the wall as she began running towards the front door.

“Wait, what? He heard that?” Stiles asked as he rose from the couch and followed after Agie as she pulled the door out and stepped out onto the front porch.

Scott and Isaac were both blocking Derek’s path, and he glared at them instead of dodging them and leaving, as he clearly wanted to do. Agie caught up to the three of them where they stood halfway across the front yard, “Derek, he didn’t mean it like that, you can’t just come in in the middle of a conversation.”

“Dude – hey let me just explain,” Stiles said as he caught up with them. 

Derek’s glare softened slightly as Stiles reached out for his forearm where it was crossed against his chest. But that was his only acknowledgement of Stiles’ request.

“Can we… can we go for a walk?” Stiles asked hopefully.

Derek looked at Scott, who seemed to nod encouragingly, before he turned back to Stiles, “Yea, okay. A walk sounds good.”

Stiles face burst into a wide grin, and the two of them turned towards the path that led into the woods. 

“I’m really sorry I said that,” Stiles said after they had walked in silence for a few minutes. “I was just a little frustrated. I don’t want my magic to be another thing that you worry about. You already worry about too many things. I think you take too much responsibility for everything.”

“I think I worry about exactly the right number of things,” Derek replied stiffly.

“Really Derek. I am sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

Derek just shrugged as he kept walking. 

“I mean, it’s just, you’re always worrying about me because I’m just a human--”

“Stiles, I’m don’t worry about you because you’re just a human,” Derek interrupts, turning to look at Stiles. “You’re not just… it’s not that your… Stiles, you’re more than just that.”

Stiles realized what Derek was struggling to hint at, “You mean, I mean more to you?”

Derek nods, but then turns abruptly back towards the path they were walking on. “You know, when I was younger, I would walk down this path almost every single day. It was one of my favorite paths in the whole preserve.”

“Really?” Stiles asked, falling back in step with Derek as he began walking. “You never really talk about it, your life before, I mean.”

“The trees here, in this part of the preserve, are the oldest ones. They’re taller and spread out more. And there’s less undergrowth, see? Over there are some smaller saplings and plants because one of those trees fell down. But that was when we were in New York. One time, my brothers and I decided to measure all of the trees to see which one was the biggest.” Derek grins at the memory. “We used our arms to measure the width of the trunks. I think that one over there took three of us to wrap our arms around it. I was only ten at the time, and the twins were seven, and Mitch was five, so I’m not sure how reliable of a measurement that was.”

Stiles was staring at Derek with wonder. He didn’t think he had ever heard Derek speak so much all at once before, and he had definitely never heard him reminisce so fondly about his life. He wanted to ask questions, but he didn’t want to push Derek too far, to ask the wrong question, to make him return to his normal reserved self. 

“One time when I was little, I decided that I was a frog. My mom let me count how many frog-jumps it took to get to Scott’s house.”

Derek chuckled and looked at Stiles, “Did Scott live in the same house? Isn’t it like a mile away from yours?”

Stiles laughed and nodded, “She had the patience of a saint. But I mean, I guess that worked out for her, because I was so tired that I napped all afternoon that day.”

“I think I remember you, by the way,” Derek almost whispered after a few moments of silence.

“What?” Stiles’ felt his jaw drop open. They had never really talked about it, but Agie’s dad pointed out that he had been friends with Derek’s parents, and that Agie had hung out with Cora and the twins a couple times when they were younger, and that Stiles might have had play-dates with them when Agie was visiting. Stiles wanted to remember hanging out with the Hales as a kid, but a lot of his memories were fuzzy from back then. 

“We used to have a big picnic every summer. I remember Agie’s parents coming a few times, and she would always play with Cora or the twins. I didn’t hang out with them as much at that point. I was in high school and I thought the middle school kids were too young, and I was too cool. But I remember one year Agie brought her little cousin,” Derek smiles over at him. “You stood out. You were loud and goofy, but you also seemed kind of sad. I spent most of that day reading a book, I think. Laura made fun of me for not ‘engaging’ - she used to say, ‘Derek you have to engage with real live people’ all the time.”

Stiles paused and stared at Derek, “I remember that too. I didn’t realize that was your family. That was just a few months after my mom died. My dad… he wasn’t doing well, and he really only took me out to work events or things like that, where there would be other parents he could trust to watch me. I … I was trying to act okay, like, if I was okay, then he would be okay too.”

“There’s a big difference between acting okay and being okay,” Derek murmured. 

“Yea,” Stiles agreed, and he linked his arm through Derek’s before the two continued walking in silence. 

Stiles hadn’t realize that the path had been looping them back towards the house, until a few minutes later he saw the porch light peeking through the trees. 

“Thanks for telling me about your family,” Stiles said softly. 

Derek stopped one more time and turned to look at Stiles. Stiles stilled and stared back, waiting for Derek to say or do something. A kiss maybe. A declaration of love. Maybe just a ‘you’re welcome.’

Instead, Derek reached out and held onto Stiles’ hand, gave it a brief squeeze, and dropped it. “Thank you for letting me,” Derek said, and then walked into the house. 

Stiles stood still for a brief moment feeling the tingle where Derek had pressed into his hand. He had wanted to talk about them and the relationship he was hoping to build, but having Derek open up about his life and sharing fond memories… that was almost better.


	3. Post-Epilogue

Stiles let himself into Derek’s house and was surprised to find Derek alone. He was sitting in the kitchen nook reading a book. 

“Where is everyone?” Stiles asked as he sat across from Derek, “I don’t think I’ve seen the house this quiet… since before you guys moved in.”

Derek put down his book and grinned, “Agie is over at an orientation and Cora mentioned that she needed to go shopping for school clothes, so Lydia and Allison kidnapped her. I think Lydia has been vying for the chance to get rid of some of Cora’s clothes.”

Stiles chuckled and slid his foot across under the table until it bumped into Derek’s. “I was actually hoping to talk to you alone, so this is kind of perfect.” Derek’s grin widened and Stiles felt his insides dance. It was ridiculous how much a genuine smile changed Derek’s face, and he honestly felt like he would do anything to make sure that it became a more regular fixture there. 

“Oh yea? About what?”

“Anchors,” Stiles replied. “Sonia said I need to find one to help me control my magic, to make sure that I don’t ever lose control like I did with the hunters.”

Derek’s face became more serious and he shifted in his seat. “Okay. You know the basics about anchors already, from talking with Scott and Isaac. So what do you want to know about?”

“What is yours?” Stiles said quietly, “I was talking to Agie, and you told her that yours used to be anger. But… that implies that it changed.”

Derek nods and looks down at his hands which are folded over his book. “Mine was anger for a long time. Anger at myself for killing Paige. Anger at that Alpha for taking advantage of me just to get at my mother. Anger at Kate. Anger at myself for letting Kate take advantage of me. Anger at all of the hunters. Anger at the Alphas. Honestly, it was mostly anger at myself.”

“Dude that’s devastating.” Derek shrugged with one shoulder. “But what changed? What’s your anchor now?”

Derek kept his eyes trained on his hands and whispered one word, “Hope.”

“Hope?” Stiles whispers, leaning forward. “Hope in what?”

Derek laces his fingers together, “The future. What my life might look like. The pack.” He hesitates before looking up into Stiles’ eyes, “You.”

Stiles shifts so that he’s in the chair next to Derek. He reaches out and places his hands over Derek’s. “I have so many questions,” he breathes out. “But can I kiss you first?”

Derek nods and leans forward. When their lips meet, Stiles can swear that he feels a tingle of magic run through his body. He is completely willing to wait for as long as it takes for Derek to feel comfortable with him. They’ve talked about Derek’s fears and reservations about dating Stiles, and while a lot of them having to do with Stiles being so much younger than Derek, a lot of them have to do with Derek’s consistently bad track record with dating people. Each and every one of Derek’s fears is valid and well-founded, but Stiles also knows that Derek likes him, and maybe even loves him. And he knows that he loves Derek. He’s even pretty sure that he’ll work up the courage to tell him soon. He’s willing to take things as slow as Derek wants, but every once in a while, he struggles to control his desire to express his feelings. 

Their kiss is short and chaste, but Derek leans his forehead against Stiles’ and just breathes him in for a moment. “Sometimes I feel like I don’t deserve you,” Derek murmurs. 

“You do though,” Stiles replied. “And then a thousand other wonderful things too.”


End file.
